Destiny Velez Crowned Miss Puerto Rico 2015

July 20, 2015

Destiny Vélez, a sophomore Management Information Systems major and honor student in the College of Business, was crowned the 2015 Miss Puerto Rico for the 2016 Miss America Organization competition. Vélez, who is a member of the university’s bowling team, will be the first ever student-athlete from the Southwestern Athletic Association (SWAC) to participate in the Miss America Competition.

The competition of Miss Puerto Rico – Preliminary official 2015 Miss America was held at 7:00 pm EST on July 11, 2015. Miss Puerto Rico represents the island in the 2016 Miss America Organization competition that will take place on September 13, 2015 at 9:00 pm EST and broadcast live on ABC Television Network.

Since the age of 13, Destiny has been participating in the Miss America Outstanding Teen program, were she was finalist in all her years of participation. She is clearly the product of the Outstanding Teen program, having won a Miss title at the local preliminaries and now a state title as Miss Puerto Rico. Destiny demonstrated her talent with an Instrumental – Acoustic Drums performance of Wipe Out by The Surfaris. Her state’s platform is supporting the San Jorge Children’s Foundation- a non-profit organization that medically cares for children who have few economical resources.

Destiny’s personal platform is being an “Upstander”. For Vélez, being an upstander, means that she is aware that it is time for people to become part of the solution to end bullying. According to Vélez, “We should all work together for a goal to break the cycle of violence, stop peer cruelty and provide our children with caring, safe, and respectful environments they so deserve. Vélez urges everyone to stand up, speak out, lend a hand, and be an “upstander” rather than a bystander. “Together, we can be the generation that eradicates bullying,” shared Vélez.